Pennsylvania environmental regulators on Monday concluded that Marcellus Shale drilling was not responsible for a high-profile case of methane contamination of private water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania. The state Department of Environmental Protection said it has closed the books on an investigation of the methane migration in Franklin Forks, Pa., which anti-drilling celebrities Yoko Ono […]

Source: The Washington Times, April 29, 2013 By: Ben Wolfgang After a 16-month investigation, state regulators Monday said that natural gas fracking, contrary to highly publicized claims, isn’t to blame for high methane levels in three families’ drinking water in a northern Pennsylvania town. For fracking proponents, it was another piece of good news. The […]

Read here about cleaning of contaminated sediment on the Hudson River that has just started its fourth year.  

Source: Niagara Gazette (NY), April 28, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com A 2011 sewer line project that raised concerns about Love Canal-era contamination in Lasalle has prompted a lawsuit seeking damages for “grievously injured” residents of the Niagara Falls neighborhood. A complaint filed April 18 in State Supreme Court in Niagara County alleges that various parties […]

Read here about a decision that was made in Pennsylvania by state environmental regulators that says gas drilling is not responsible for water contamination.  

Source: http://www.lexology.com, April 22, 2013 By: John B. Berringer, Reed Smith LLP After a spate of bad decisions for policyholders on whether general liability policies can ever provide coverage for construction liabilities, three courts, in the past few weeks, have done an about-face, holding that there is coverage in certain circumstances for such liabilities. Relying […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, April 10, 2013 By: Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP A buyer of contaminated property was held to have lost its ability to claim to be a non-liable “bona fide prospective purchaser” under CERCLA because it failed to act appropriately with respect to hazardous substances it found on the site. As a result, […]

Source: http://www.irmi.com, March 2013 By: Mark M. Bell, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP Over the years, the pollution exclusion in commercial general liability (CGL) policies has provided something of a moving target for insureds, insurers, and underwriters. CGL coverage for pollution-related losses has seen significant changes over the past 40 years. These changes have […]

Source: El Paso Times, April 25, 2013 By: Diana Washington Valdez Asarco alleges in a federal lawsuit that two Cemex units are responsible for lead and arsenic contamination found in or near the International Boundary and Water Commission site in West El Paso, and is asking the court to order Cemex to share in the […]

Source: Becker’s Hospital Review, April 24, 2013 Hospitals and other medical facilities often deal with the outbreak of viral or bacterial infections in the course of their business. Many may not have considered these outbreaks as a form of “pollution,” but depending on the jurisdiction in which they are located, their insurance companies may very […]

Source: http://www.natlawreview.com, April 24, 2013 By: Environmental Practice Group, Greenberg Traurig, LLP A recent decision from the federal district court in Pittsburgh highlights the importance of carrying environmental insurance, especially in connection with properties or facilities with an increased potential for environmental legacy liabilities. Many property owners believe that comprehensive general liability (CGL) policies adequately […]

Source: The Macomb Daily, April 23, 2013 By: Frank DeFrank Groundwater contamination near the site of a closed Ford plant in Shelby Township is more widespread than initially believed, and cleanup of the site could cost as much as $150 million, a chemical expert said. The situation could pose a health threat to residents in […]